Sleep story · quiet, home
The house after everyone is asleep, if you have five quiet minutes — for waking too early
The hour when the house belongs to nobody and nothing needs doing.
Lights off. Press begin and let the story read itself to you, at the pace of sleep.
Screen on or off — we suggest dimming it, or simply closing your eyes after the first paragraph.
The story, in full
Everything in the room is exactly where it was left. The clock in the hallway ticks slightly behind the one in the kitchen. The radiator clicks once as it cools down.
The lamp beside you is the only light left on in the whole house. There is nothing left on the list for today. The floorboards have stopped creaking because nobody is walking on them.
Let everything you were holding today stay on the floor beside the bed. Feel the weight of your head on the pillow.
Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop. Let your forearms get heavy and warm.
Everyone went to bed an hour ago, and the house has stopped making the sounds it makes during the day. The fridge hums on and off in the kitchen, and that is the loudest thing in the building.
Your ankles can go loose now. Feel your wrists loosen.
Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking. If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
Let the mattress take all of it. Your jaw can drop slightly. Let your teeth part.
Let the quiet be boring. They will find their own way out.
Follow the breath out, and let the next one arrive by itself. Let the breath be the only thing you are doing. Just the breath.
Five quiet minutes is enough. Ten is generous.
The end. Sleep well.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for quiet, home.